#medieval astronomy

[cuties-in-codices]

comets

in an astrological-astronomical miscellany, alemmanic german, c. 1500

source: Wolfenbüttel, Herzog August Bibl., Cod. Guelf. 8.7 Aug. 4º, fol. 94r-118r

[margaritiques]

A good part thereof used the king [Henry VIII] upon holy days when he had done his own devotions, to send for him [Thomas More] into his traverse, and there — sometimes in matters of astronomy, geometry, divinity, and such other faculties, and sometimes of his worldly affairs — to sit and confer with him. And otherwhiles, in the night would he have him up into the leads [roofs], there to consider with him the diversities, courses, motions, and operations of the stars and planets.

From The Mirror Of Virtue In Worldly Greatness, or The Life of Sir Thomas More, Knight, sometime Lord Chancellor of England written c.1550s by More's son-in-law, William Roper, first published 1626.

[medievalistsnet]

How medieval people described solar eclipses - Medievalists.net

Solar eclipses are one of our most remarkable episodes of natural phenomena. This was true as well in the Middle Ages, which are told in ten

[gawrkin]

Astronomy and Necromancy

Google AI points out the relationship Astronomy and Necromancy have in the Medieval Occult

Vulgate Cycle uses the word "Astronomy" to denote the study of the stars and their movements, which in turn is used for mystical practice:

[...]

In Medieval study, "Astronomy" and "Astrology" haven't been separated yet, and the different fields of knowledge blended into each other, most notably, Medicine.

Medieval Medicine still operated under the Greek Philosophies (Hippocrates) like Humorism and Astrological influences on Human Health.

Which is why Morgan's first major mystical field is Astrology, because it was essential for her early role as a Healer. This, in turn, is why she ends up mastering Necromancy under Merlin:

[...]

(Source: Vulgate Cycle)

[corduroy-leggings]

Happy birthday to my blorbo from the history books!!!

Tycho Brahe was born December 14th, 1546 and he grew up to be the first modern astronomer (debated slightly, the title is often given to his apprentice, Johannes Kepler, though I believe that Brahe is just as worthy for the title) as his theories were developed mainly through mathematic and scientific conclusions, rather than speculation. Brahe built many astronomical instruments that were not only very big for the time, but also astonishingly precise for the time. He is credited for recording supernova SN1572, in the constellation Casseopia.

And also he lost his nose to his third cousin and was kidnapped by his uncle when he was 2.

[solreefs]

anyone know any good books or documentaries on medieval-era Islamic astronomy? it came up in my history class and astronomy special interest go brrr

[to-many-towered-camelot]

Medieval Astronomy resources 🚀👽🌌

there’s a tiny bit of a tendency in resources on medieval astronomy to ignore either:

the contributions of any medieval thinkers towards ideas that gained traction in the scientific revolution (i.e. ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’ is a medieval concept in and of itself! and it applies here!! the Great Man understanding of scientific history really cherry-picks what we remember about the past!!)

the immense contributions and genius of Islamic thinkers towards medieval understandings of astronomy, let alone the fact that Persian and Indian ideas were tied up in all of this 

the close relationship between science and religion in medieval Christianity and Islam (it was seen as a way of understanding God’s creation!! it wasn’t seen as bad unless it contradicted established doctrine!! in which case yes sigh the church would scold/ban/burn your ass, depending)

all of the above

and there’s often this undercurrent of “the Greeks and Romans had it sorted and all this knowledge was lost in the ~Dark Ages~ and until Aristotle was ~rediscovered~ the world backslid into ~primitive~ ignorance” 😪

TLDR: these links aren’t as nuanced as they maybe could be, but they’re better than some, so feel free to try mush them together in your brain and see what emerges 😂:

Medieval astronomy | Medieval Science History part 3 (10 mins)

The Medieval Islamicate World: Crash Course History of Science #7 (13 mins)

Religion and Science History in Medieval Europe | Medieval Science History part 5 (11 mins)

Podcast interview with Seb Falk - the guy in Neil deGrasse Tyson’s video above ^^ (19 mins)

Astronomy and Astrology in the Medieval Islamic World (essay/article)

India, the Islamic world, medieval Europe, and China (essay/article - did not give any person or time period before Copernicus enough credit tbh)

anyway astronomy and astrophysics are so SO interesting to me and i love a cheeky bit of overlap with my other One True Love (medieval history) so enjoy the vibes ❤️❤️⭐

[cuties-in-codices]

constellations: pegasus, delphinus, cetus, gallina, draco

in an astronomical-astrological miscellany, worms, c. 1426

source: Vatican, Bibl. Apostolica Vaticana, Pal. lat. 1368, fol. 51r-55r